From Issue Seven of Hidden Scotland Magazine

Your Essential Guide to Up Helly Aa

Laurie Goodlad on how best to see Shetland’s fire festival.

Words by Laurie Goodlad · Photographs by David Gifford

Printed in Issue Seven of Hidden Scotland Magazine, Autumn and Winter 2023–24.

If you’re looking to experience a wild northern winter, punctuated with a dash of culture, fire and Viking tradition, then Up Helly Aa is a highlight of Shetland’s cultural calendar. Laurie Goodlad explains the best way to make the most of Shetland’s festival of fire.

With no more than six hours of daylight throughout January, Shetland is a land of winter darkness. It’s an archipelago hammered by Atlantic storms, fierce winds and biting cold, but within this, Up Helly Aa is the event long-anticipated throughout the year which lights up the night sky and warms the hearts of thousands of participants and onlookers every year.

Between January and March, the islands celebrate the festival of Up Helly Aa, with 12 Fire Festival and Up Helly Aa celebrations featuring fiery processions, Viking dress and all-night parties following the burning of a Viking longship. Of these, the largest and most well-known is the Lerwick Up Helly Aa, which takes place on the last Tuesday of January.

For members